Saudi Arabia Shuts Down East-West Pipeline Amid Multiple Attacks

The East-West Pipeline, also known as Petroline, has been shut down by Saudi Arabia due to multiple attacks in the Riyadh and Madinah regions. The pipeline, which is approximately 1,200 kilometers long, carries crude oil from the kingdom's eastern oilfields across the country to Yanbu on the Red Sea. Tankers loading at Yanbu do not have to enter the Persian Gulf or pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The shutdown comes as a significant blow to global energy markets, which have been relying heavily on this alternative route due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency estimates that flows through the East-West Pipeline reached almost 8 million barrels per day in June, making it one of the world's most important ways around Hormuz.

The Saudi Energy Ministry has not provided a timeline for reopening the pipeline, and the responsibility for the attacks has not been definitively established. However, Iran-aligned groups have attacked Saudi infrastructure during the conflict, and Houthi forces have made major territorial advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast.